prep. [ AS. of of, from, off; akin to D. & OS. af, G. ab off, OHG. aba from, away, Icel., Dan., Sw., & Goth. af, L. ab, Gr. &unr_;, Skr. apa. Cf. Off, A- (2), Ab-, After, Epi-. ] In a general sense, from, or out from; proceeding from; belonging to; relating to; concerning; -- used in a variety of applications; as: [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Denoting that from which anything proceeds; indicating origin, source, descent, and the like; as, he is of a race of kings; he is of noble blood. [ 1913 Webster ]

That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luke i. 35. [ 1913 Webster ]

I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you. 1 Cor. xi. 23. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Denoting possession or ownership, or the relation of subject to attribute; as, the apartment of the consul: the power of the king; a man of courage; the gate of heaven. “Poor of spirit.” Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Denoting the material of which anything is composed, or that which it contains; as, a throne of gold; a sword of steel; a wreath of mist; a cup of water. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Denoting part of an aggregate or whole; belonging to a number or quantity mentioned; out of; from amongst; as, of this little he had some to spare; some of the mines were unproductive; most of the company. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. Lam. iii. 22. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is a duty to communicate of those blessings we have received. Franklin. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Denoting that by which a person or thing is actuated or impelled; also, the source of a purpose or action; due to; as, they went of their own will; no body can move of itself; he did it of necessity. [ 1913 Webster ]

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts. Josh. xi. 20. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Denoting reference to a thing; about; concerning; relating to; as, to boast of one's achievements; they talked of many things. [ 1913 Webster ]

Knew you of this fair work? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. Denoting nearness or distance, either in space or time; from; as, within a league of the town; within an hour of the appointed time. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. Denoting identity or equivalence; -- used with a name or appellation, and equivalent to the relation of apposition; as, the continent of America; the city of Rome; the Island of Cuba. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. Denoting the agent, or person by whom, or thing by which, anything is, or is done; by. [ 1913 Webster ]

And told to her of [ by ] some. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

He taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all. Luke iv. 15. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Jesus ] being forty days tempted of the devil. Luke iv. 1, 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The use of the word in this sense, as applied to persons, is nearly obsolete. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. Denoting relation to place or time; belonging to, or connected with; as, men of Athens; the people of the Middle Ages; in the days of Herod. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. Denoting passage from one state to another; from. [ Obs. ] “O miserable of happy.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. During; in the course of. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not be seen to wink of all the day. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

My custom always of the afternoon. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Of may be used in a subjective or an objective sense. “The love of God” may mean, our love for God, or God's love for us. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ From is the primary sense of this preposition; a sense retained in off, the same word differently written for distinction. But this radical sense disappears in most of its application; as, a man of genius; a man of rare endowments; a fossil of a red color, or of an hexagonal figure; he lost all hope of relief; an affair of the cabinet; he is a man of decayed fortune; what is the price of corn? In these and similar phrases, of denotes property or possession, or a relation of some sort involving connection. These applications, however all proceeded from the same primary sense. That which proceeds from, or is produced by, a person or thing, either has had, or still has, a close connection with the same; and hence the word was applied to cases of mere connection, not involving at all the idea of separation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Of consequence, of importance, value, or influence. --
Of late, recently; in time not long past. --
Of old, formerly; in time long past. --
Of one's self, by one's self; without help or prompting; spontaneously. [ 1913 Webster ] Why, knows not Montague, that of itself
England is safe, if true within itself? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ OE. of, orig. the same word as R. of, prep., AS. of, adv. & prep. √194. See Of. ] In a general sense, denoting from or away from; as: [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Denoting distance or separation; as, the house is a mile off. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Denoting the action of removing or separating; separation; as, to take off the hat or cloak; to cut off, to pare off, to clip off, to peel off, to tear off, to march off, to fly off, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Denoting a leaving, abandonment, departure, abatement, interruption, or remission; as, the fever goes off; the pain goes off; the game is off; all bets are off. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Denoting a different direction; not on or towards: away; as, to look off. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Denoting opposition or negation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The questions no way touch upon puritanism, either off or on. Bp. Sanderson. [ 1913 Webster ]

From off, off from; off. “A live coal . . . taken with the tongs from off the altar.” Is. vi. 6. --
Off and on. (a) Not constantly; not regularly; now and then; occasionally. (b) (Naut.) On different tacks, now toward, and now away from, the land. --
To be off. (a) To depart; to escape; as, he was off without a moment's warning. (b) To be abandoned, as an agreement or purpose; as, the bet was declared to be off. [ Colloq. ] --
To come off,
To cut off,
To fall off,
To go off, etc. See under Come, Cut, Fall, Go, etc. --
To get off. (a) To utter; to discharge; as, to get off a joke. (b) To go away; to escape; as, to get off easily from a trial. [ Colloq. ] --
To take off
To do a take-off on,
To take off, to mimic, lampoon, or impersonate. --
To tell off (a) (Mil.), to divide and practice a regiment or company in the several formations, preparatory to marching to the general parade for field exercises. Farrow. (b) to rebuke (a person) for an improper action; to scold; to reprimand. --
To be well off, to be in good condition. --
To be ill off,
To be badly off, to be in poor condition. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. On the farther side; most distant; on the side of an animal or a team farthest from the driver when he is on foot; in the United States, the right side; as, the off horse or ox in a team, in distinction from the nigh or near horse or ox; the off leg. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Designating a time when one is not strictly attentive to business or affairs, or is absent from his post, and, hence, a time when affairs are not urgent; as, he took an off day for fishing: an off year in politics. “In the off season.” Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Designating a time when one's performance is below normal; as, he had an off day. [ PJC ]

Off side. (a) The right hand side in driving; the farther side. See Gee. (b) (Cricket) See Off, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Cricket) The side of the field that is on the right of the wicket keeper. [ 1913 Webster ]

interj. Away; begone; -- a command to depart. [ 1913 Webster ]

prep. Not on; away from; as, to be off one's legs or off the bed; two miles off the shore. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Off hand. See Offhand. --
Off side (Football), out of play; -- said when a player has got in front of the ball in a scrimmage, or when the ball has been last touched by one of his own side behind him. --
To be off color, (a) to be of a wrong color. (b) to be mildly obscene. --
To be off one's food or
To be off one's feed, (Colloq.) to have no appetite; to be eating less than usual. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Off + fall. ] 1. The rejected or waste parts of any process, especially the inedible parts of a butchered animal, such as the viscera. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. A dead body; carrion. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. That which is thrown away as worthless or unfit for use; refuse; rubbish. [ 1913 Webster ]

The offals of other professions. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. discontinuous; not continuous. Opposite of continuous. [ prenominal ]
Syn. -- interrupted. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. (Mil.) located outside a military base; as, off-base housing. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

prop. n. 1. A group of low-budget theaters located outside the Broadway area in Manhattan. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. The professional drama presented in off-Broadway theaters. [ PJC ]